just pretend?
by Duckling loves apples
Summary: Gilbert has to introduce his girlfriend to his parents, but the problem is...he doesn't have one. Good thing his best friend is willing to help him by dressing up as a girl and acting like he is in love with him. what could possibly happen? after all they are just pretending, right?
1. help me out!

It was a beautiful winter day in the city of Ottawa, Canada. The sun was shining, the floor was covered in snow and kids and adults were skating on a frozen pond. It was a perfect day to be outside…but not for him. In front of the pond stood an apartment building and inside lived a 21-year-old man who had hair as white as the snow outside, pale skin and shocking red eyes. He sat lazily on the couch holding a can of beer in one hand and the TV remote on the other as he flipped through the channels. He sighed, not really paying attention to the screen anymore until a faint ringing got him out of his trance. Grunting he got off of the couch and picked up the phone making the ringing stop.

"Awesome speaking," he said into the phone, scratching the back of his head.

_"Gilbert!"_ said an enthusiastic voice on the other side of the phone "_how's mein boy doing?"_

"Hey vatter, kesesesese, what makes you call the awesome me?" he said with now much more energy than before.

_"I was just calling to let you know that well be going to Hawaii for a week and your mother and I want you to come as well."_

"I don't think I can afford a plane ticket to Hawaii…"

_"You don't need to worry about that," _he said interrupting his son_ "we'll be paying for both your tickets and the hotel" _Gilbert was doing a happy dance (a very awesome one) what person would be idiotic enough to turn down a free trip to…Wait both?

"Wait, what do you mean both?"

_"You and your girlfriend of course!" _Gilbert froze suddenly _"your mother and I have wanted to meet her for months now since you hardly told us anything about her, so we thought, what better place to meet than at a family bonding trip?" _

Gilbert chuckled nervously "y-yea…right" ever since he moved out of his parents' place he's been single but told his parents otherwise just to stop them from bugging him for the rest of his life. It was a fool-proof plan…until now that is.

"By the way son, you never told us her name" Gilbert passed nervously around the room.

"Right…her name…" he looked outside the window and noticed a familiar small blonde outside gliding though the frozen pond with kids "her name is Madeline Williams"

oooooOOOOOooooo

"So what do you say Mattie?!" the albino was sitting on the couch of the blonde's apartment. The blonde, Mathew, looked with his head tilted and an eyebrow lifted. After a while he spoke.

"Ok Gil… what's the catch, eh?" he said taking a sip of hot chocolate from the mug he was holding.

"What do you mean? Can't an awesome man invite his almost as awesome best friend to a free trip to Hawaii for a week?" he said throwing his arm around the smaller man's shoulder which glared at him. "ok look in need you to pretend to date me so I can introduce you to my parents so they don't know I've been lying to them this whole time about being in a relationship." He finally said.

"So you're just going to tell your parents you're gay?" asked Mathew.

"Hell no! They would kill me, my parents both grew up with very strict families"

"Then why don't you ask a girl?" she said sighing.

"because I was in a hurry to think of someone and when I looked outside the window you were the first person I saw so I kind of described you and told them your name was Madeline" Mathew looked at him with an incredulous look but didn't say anything. "a-and I mean you kind of look like a girl already sooooooo…"

Mathew's palm met up with his forehead knowing what he was going with that "Gil…" he sighed "just because I'm gay doesn't mean I'm a cross dresser" he wasn't a cross dresser but he could pull it off if he tried. He had almost shoulder length, wavy blonde hair with an odd curl falling in front of his face where small framed glasses masked his big violet eyes. His eyelashes were longer that most men and he had soft pink lips. He was a head shorter that Gilbert and he had a small frame though he exercised.

"Please birdie, come on, you're my best friend you're supposed to help me!" he said giving him the best kicked puppy face he could make. Mathew sighed.

"Well…I've always wanted to go to Hawaii…" with that Gilbert's expression changed in an instant and was hugging his friend to the point where the other couldn't breathe.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, you're awesome birdie! Know put your jacket on, were going shopping."

oooooOOOOOooooo

Mathew and Gilbert got out of the car and headed into a pink building with big while letters that read "phoenix boutique". Once inside Gilbert immediately started looking for someone. "My friend Feliks owns this place so he can give us a discount" he explained and Mathew nodded.

"There you are Feliks!" he said causing a small man with shoulder length blonde hair and green eyes to turn around. He was wearing, what Mathew assumed, white designer jeans, a simple pink polo shirt and had a metric tape around his neck.

"Hey Gilbert, like, what are you doing here?" he said approaching the pair.

We need to buy enough clothes for a week" he said simply.

"Why do you need girl clothes?" he said tilting his head to the side. 'merde' thought Mathew how were they going to explain to him that they were buying clothes for him?

"Mattie here has a cousin in Hawaii and she looks exactly like him 'cuz his aunt is his mother's twin. Anyways it's almost her birthday and so we thought if the clothes looks good on him then it must look good on her right?" The Canadian looked at his friend in shock thinking how he was able to come up with that on the spot.

"Well why didn't you say so?" the other said. "I'm, like, totally happy to help, so let's get started!" the blonde dragged the Canadian by the wrist and shoved him into a changing room where he was forced to change into different clothes and style his hair depending on the outfit to add to the effect (according to Gilbert).

After about an hour or so of looking for different outfits and the Canadian blushing from embarrassment, they finally left the store with bags full of clothes and arrived at Mathew's apartment to pack their bags and wait until the next day.

* * *

**Sup people Duckling here QUACK! If you read my last fanfic then I TOLD YOU, YOU WOULDN'T GET RID OF ME! If not then hey I'm Duckling! Anyways I have no idea where I'm going with this story, I've got the first few chapters all figured out though so I'm not worried. Also I've never been to Hawaii so if I write anything that's completely inaccurate feel free to tell me SO! I hope you guys are liking this so far and DUCKLING OUT QUACK! **


	2. meet the parents!

"Hurry up _Madeline_ the taxi is here" Gilbert was outside the building with his luggage already in the trunk on the car. He was trying to contain his laughter as he called out for his friend. Mathew came out dragging a red luggage behind him and Gilbert couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

It was obvious he was freezing to death. Unlike Gilbert who was wearing jeans, Mathew was forced into wearing a purple mini skirt, a purple tank top with a red jacket that went down almost to his knees decorated with white maple leaves at the bottom, and had to trade his beloved furry pilot hat for a light red beanie that left his ears exposed because (according to Gilbert) it would ruin his pig tails. The only thing keeping him remotely warm was his fuzzy boots.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" asked Mathew handing him his luggage. The albino only grinned. "Why couldn't I wait till we got to the airport to change?"

"Because it would be weird for a "girl" to walk out of the men's room" he said simply getting in the cab.

Once they got to the airport Mathew warmed up somewhat but cursed the cold once they stepped out of the gate to get on the plane. Gilbert kept trying not to laugh at his best friend's misfortune. When they got on the plane, Mathew claimed the seat by the window while Gilbert placed their hand bags above them.

"Gil can I see your bag for a sec?" asked Mathew.

"Oh are you gonna get something out?" Mathew nodded. Gilbert handed him the bag and he immediately snatched it from his hands taking his Prussian flag blanket out and tossing him the bag again. Gilbert laughed as Mathew snuggled into the blanket humming as he started to get warm.

"C'mon birdie, it's not that cold" he said sitting down next to him.

"Shut up…you try wearing a skirt"

"Kesesesese…don't worry you'll be thankful once we get to Hawaii." He said and Mathew grunted. "Oh I almost forgot" Gilbert said searching his pocket. With a grin he pulled out a hair clip with a maple leaf on it and placed it on Mathew's hair.

"Why is it a maple leaf?" he asked.

"Well you're Canadian aren't you? So you must love maple leaves." Mathew gave Gilbert a very, very soft punch on the shoulder.

"That's a stupid stereotype Gilbert" he stopped suddenly with a light blush "…but I do love maple leaves"

"Thought so…" he said sighing "you know…sometimes I think you are the human version of Canada"

"Why is that?" he said tilting his head.

"Well first of all the colors you wear more often are red and white and those are the colors of the Canadian flag..." Mathew tilted his head but Gilbert continued. "You love hockey and when you play you turn into a killing machine but any other day you wouldn't hurt a fly 'cuz you're like the nicest shit ever."

Mathew was about to say something but again Gilbert kept talking "…You love maple syrup and pancakes and you own a polar bear… a freaking polar bear! Is that even legal?"

Mathew sighed and snuggled more into the cover and his seat. Gilbert laughed with victory as his friend refused to say another word. The rest of the trip went fast for the two. They spent their time talking and sleeping, and in Gilbert's case, stuffing his face with food.

"_Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking. We will be descending at your destination soon so please buckle up" _

"Hey birdie…" asked Gilbert. "Do you even know how to act like a girl?"

"Why do you ask" he said folding the blanket.

"Well I don't think I see myself dating a tomboy so I was just asking"

"So you want me to act…how?" he asked rising and eyebrow.

"Dunno…"he said folding his arms. The plane soon landed and everyone started to leave. Mathew and Gilbert were one of the only ones left so Gilbert used that chance to judge Mathew's feminine act.

"C'mon birdie I just want to see how convincing you are" he said as Mathew pulled their bags down.

"Shouldn't you had considered that before?" he asked not bothering to turn around yet.

"Well it's too late for that, now show me how you would introduce yourself" Mathew sighed but did so anyways.

He closed his legs together bending one slightly and lifted one hand to his mouth in a lazy fist as he held out the other "bonjour I'm Madeline Williams it's a pleasure to meet you" he said adding a giggle at the end for effect.

Gilbert stared at him wide-eyed with a barely noticeable blush on his face.

"What? Too much?"

"Are you sure you're not a girl?" he asked and Mathew rolled his eyes.

"Yes Gil I'm sure" he said giving Gilbert his bag as he took his own and walked out of the plane.

"Are you positive? Have you checked?" he said running after Mathew who was almost out of the plane.

oooooOOOOOooooo

"Where the hell are they?" asked Gilbert as they looked for his parents.

"Well if you told me what they looked like I could help you" said Mathew with a sigh.

"There they are!" Gilbert said ignoring his friend as he grabbed his hand and dragged him along. "Hey mutti awesomeness has arrived!" he said as he approached a woman who looked exactly like him. She had long silver hair tied up in a ponytail and red eyes.

"Gilbert!" the woman said "I'm so happy to see you after so long!" she said hugging her son. She was smaller than Gilbert but a little taller than Mathew.

"You must be Madeline, it's a pleasure to meet you I'm Brigitte" she said in a soft voice turning to Mathew.

"The pleasure is all mine" he said shaking her hand. When he saw her, Mathew expected her to act just like Gilbert, but instead he got a nice and gentle woman.

"So where's the old man?" as if on cue, Gilbert got trapped in a head lock by a blonde man with blue eyes.

"SURPRISE ATTACK HAHA… Sie kein Spiel für die großartige mir bist!" he said as he talked his son to the ground. That caught Mathew by surprise. He almost went down with them since Gilbert forgot to let go of his hand once they got there.

"Dominik please behave" said Brigitte making the two stop and dust themselves. "Liebe, this is Madeline, I say our son has made a good choice don't you agree?"

The man, Dominik, looked over at Mathew and looked him in the eyes. Mathew got a little nervous he didn't say anything.

"I Agree" he finally said, Mathew let out a breath he didn't realize he didn't know he was holding "I'm Dominik, pleasure to meet you, Madeline"

"Pleasure is all mine" he said.

"You're so polite…" said Brigitte "hopefully that will rub off on Gilbert" s

"Hey! I can be polite f I want to!" Said Gilbert making the other laugh as they tried to picture him being polite. Gilbert only grunted.

"Awww, Gil…don't…get mad…" Mathew said in between laughs as he ran after him.

oooooOOOOOooooo

"Ok so you'll be staying in this room and we will be in the one next door" said Brigitte as she handed Gilbert the keys to the room.

"Now the walls aren't sound proof so if you're planning to have fun tonight you better stay quiet" said Dominik as he walked into his room.

"What?!" Mathew said as his face started to heat up.

"VATTI!" Gilbert yelled, his own face getting a little hot as well.

"He's just teasing you" said Brigitte waving her hand. "Now I know you guys are tired so I'll be going now. Have a good night"

With that she walked into her room and closed the door leaving the two in an awkward silence.

"We'll never speak about this to anyone" said Gilbert as he walked into the room. Mathew followed him and closed the door behind him. The room was pretty big and it had a giant window with view of the ocean but there was one problem…there was only one bed.

"This was to be expected," said Gilbert "since they think were a couple and all"

"Its fine" said Mathew putting his stuff away "As long as you stay on your side then I don't have a problem."

Gilbert sighed and unpacked as well. After they both were done Mathew was the first one to crash on the bed. Gilbert laughed at the fact that he was wearing pants with Maple leaves on them and had an oversized shirt with a polar bear on it. He noticed that he forgot to take off his glasses and the hair clip so he did it for him. He gently placed his glasses on the night stand next to him and soon he also found himself in a deep sleep.

* * *

**SUP PEOPLE DUCKLING HERE QUACK! Skweeee! I can't wait to write the next chapter, it's gonna be full of fluff and awkwardness (thanx to Gilbert AWESOME dad). Anyways if any of you have ever been to Hawaii and would like to help me out I would really appreciate it. I'm still gonna do some research so it's not gonna be completely inaccurate but if any of you could help me out I think it would turn out better. Anyways hope you guys are enjoying this story, DUCKLING OUT QUACK! **


	3. are you falling?

**Sup people duckling here! So I want to remind you guys that I have never been to Hawaii so this is completely inaccurate and also I forgot about the disclaimer so…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or any anime, book, or movie that I might make a reference to.**

**Anyways with that out of the way… ENJOY!**

* * *

The sun was shining through the window forcing the Canadian man to wake up. He groaned refusing to open his eyes but it seemed the sun had other plans. Slowly he opened his violet eyes and glared at the widow, "stupid sun" he murmured under his breath but ended up trying to get up anyways.

He stopped confused when he noticed he couldn't move and noticed an arm firmly wrapped around his waist. "G-Gil…please get off" he said in a loud whisper without getting a reaction from the albino. "Gil…Gil…wake up!" he said a little louder making the other to hug him closer.

"…you're so fluffy Gilbird…" said Gilbert in his sleep.

"Gil…Gil…GILBERT!" Mathew finally yelled. The albino grunted and slowly blinked his eyes half-open. Red eyes stared blankly at violet ones for a second before snapping open completely.

"Scheiße!" he yelled jolting out of bed only to fall off and land on his back with a thud. "I DID NOT MEAN FOR THAT TO HAPPEN!" he said standing up and pointing a finger at Mathew as if he was the one to blame. Mathew only laughed as he placed the maple leaf hair clip back on and slid his glasses up his nose.

"So who's Gilbird?" he asked with a grin causing the albino to look away embarrassed mumbling something that Mathew couldn't hear. "I'm sorry, what was that"

Gilbert crossed his arms and let out a puff. "Gilbert is giant stuffed bird…" he said not turning to face the smaller man who kept laughing. Mathew's laughter was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Gilbert, Madeline…I'm glad to hear that you two are awake!" said Brigitte on the other side of the door. "We ate breakfast without you so go ahead and eat and meet us at the beach afterwards ok? Oh, and don't forget your swimsuits"

"Ja sure"

"Ok we will" they said at the same time with twitchy smiles on their faces as they heard the albino woman walk away. Once sure she was gone Gilbert turned to Mathew.

"How could you forget something this important birdie!?"

"Hey don't blame me you forgot too!" he said pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Ok, ok it's nobody's fault" he said with his hands up in a defensive way. "We just need to find out how were going to do this…"

oooooOOOOOooooo

"…over here!" yelled a Brigitte waving her hand up in the air. Gilbert saw her and started walking towards her dragging Mattie by the wrist…again. Brigitte and Dominik were sitting at a bar in the sand, both with some type of drink in hand.

"AWESOMENESS HAS ARRIVED!" said Gilbert with a wide grin. Brigitte started giggling. "What's so funny?"

"I'm sorry…is just that you two look so adorable matching outfits!" she said calming down.

"What?" Gilbert said as they both looked at what they were wearing. Gilbert was wearing a white top with black trunks with red edges at the bottom while "Madeline" had a red bikini top and borrowed Gilbert's black and white trunks. "Weird…" he finally said and Mattie nodded.

"Wait a minute Madeline…" said Dominik, "why are you wearing my son's swimsuit?"

"W-well…" he said, face turning red "I really like t-them…and they make me feel more c-comfortable so…"

"Don't worry…I think you look adorable!" said Brigitte clapping her hands together making him feel more embarrassed. Just as Gilbert was about to say something, a young man and a girl came up to them.

"Hey do any of you play volleyball?" asked the girl.

"Yea… why?" said Gilbert.

"We're short on two players so do you want to jo-" Gilbert didn't let the girl finish the sentence as he immediately ripped of his shirt and threw it aside.

"LETS FUCKING DO THIS!" he said running of with his father trailing behind with almost (almost) the same amount of enthusiasm. Brigitte and Mathew were left behind, both laughing at the pair.

"Have a seat Madeline" she said motioning her to the stool next to her, "I would like to use this time to know you better" Mathew nodded and sat next to her. Mathew told her anything that came to his mind. He told her where he grew up, about his hobbies his adoration for pancakes, polar bears and maple syrup and about him playing hockey (which she seemed quite surprised).

"I would have never guessed such a fragile looking girl like yourself would play hockey" she said with interest.

"Yea…I get that a lot" he said looking at where the two Germans were playing volleyball. Gilbert and Dominik were really good, Mathew figured that it would be a close match if they were on opposite teams.

"You know, Madeline…" said Brigitte getting Mathew's attention back. "I'm surprised Gilbert got a hold of you…you're so quiet and polite…and Gilbert is, you know Gilbert" she said giggling at her own words.

"Well I was wondering the same about you"

"Yea…I guess I'm not one to talk. Dominik always caught my attention since the first day I met him…I don't know what but something about him just seemed to stand out, but isn't that the reason you fell for Gilbert?"

Mathew turned to look at the game again, he looked at Gilbert for a moment and smiled "Yea…I guess you're right…" he said as he watched the players on Gilbert's team cheer and high-five Dominik.

"OI LIEBE, DID YOU SEE THAT!" Dominik yelled.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Brigitte yelled back.

"YOU FALLING IN LOVE WITH ME AGAIN?!"

"Yup…again and again, you're the best!"

"OF COURSE I AM!" he said laughing as Gilbert seemed annoyed at the lack of attention. The game continued and this time was the one to score another point.

"HELL YEA, DID YOU SEE THAT BIRDIE!" yelled Gilbert.

Mathew giggled and yelled back "wouldn't miss it for the world!"

"YOU FALLING IN LOVE WITH HIM AGAIN?!" yelled Dominik with a grin on his face.

"Yea... w-wait what?!" said Mathew as his face started to heat up.

"VATTI COME ON!" growled Gilbert with his own face turning pink as his dad laughed. They returned to the game as Brigitte and "Madeline" returned to their conversation.

"Oh I almost forgot…Gilbert sometimes mentions things about his brother, how come he's not here?" he asked and Brigitte sighed.

"Well…we haven't been really close lately, he...it's nothing really just family issues."

"I'm sorry for asking"

"No, no, no…its fine, don't worry about it." They stayed in an awkward silence after that, neither of them finding what to say, but thankfully the pair came back with a satisfied look on their faces… apparently they won! So they decided to get a few drinks to celebrate. After a "few" drinks, they headed to the hotel's pool, it was getting late so there wasn't a lot of people there and for that Mathew was grateful.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you play hockey?" said Dominik as Brigitte told him a few of the things Mathew told her. "…but you're so small and fragile!"

Mathew sighed "yea…I get that a lot."

"Well then, let's test those muscles! Liebe, get on my shoulders!" he said lifting his wife so only her feet were below the water. "Now you get on Gilbert's shoulders" Mathew and Gilbert exchanged a confused look but did so anyway.

"Vatti what are we-"

"Ok the rules are simple" he said interrupting his son "last one standing gets to decide tomorrow's activity, got it?"

"OH ITS ON!" said Gilbert already looking forward to getting things his way.

"Wait Gil…I don't want to hurt her!" said Mathew with concern. Brigitte only laughed.

"I'm stronger than I look kid" she said showing her competitive side.

Mathew felt uneasy about this whole situation but once Brigitte started trying to push him off he realized she (like she said) was stronger that she looked. Mathew almost fell of a couple of times but Gilbert was determined to being able to choose. Most of the few people in the pool started cheering and picking sides as the "two girls" refused to fall over. Eventually Mathew and Gilbert one.

"HELL YEA! YOU BETTER BE PREPARED 'CUZ TOMORROW IS GONNA BE AWESOME!"

* * *

**Sup people duckling here QUACK! I'm sorry for not updating sooner but, I had writers block and…yea I'm not gonna lie…I was procrastinating. ANYWAYS I any of you got that Clannad reference, YOU WIN A VIRTUAL APPLE! I couldn't help it I love that scene. ALSO! Germany or Ludwig will be in the story later on so I just wanted to give you guys a heads-up. With that said, you guys are awesome DUCKLING OUT QUACK!**


	4. liar, liar, pants on fire!

"That was a fun experience, right Gil?" said Mathew as he and Gilbert where walking into the airport. Mathew let his hair fall again with a sigh of relief and took the hair clip off. "I'm glad I don't have to walk around with pigtails anymore"

" Gilbert said with a voice that Mathew noticed (but chose to shrug it off) sounded like he was lost in his own little world. Mathew shuttered as a sudden wind passed them

"I forgot how cold it was here. I'm freezing" he said hugging himself when he was suddenly pined against the wall. Gilbert had his arms on both sides of Mathew's head as red eyes stared intensively at violet.

"Let me help you get warm."

"W-w-what? Gil what are you doing?" he said, his voice cracking a bit. Suddenly he began trembling and his knees started to get week.

"You know..." he said simply "I've called you my best friend since I first met you. But I'm getting tired of looking at you and not being able to kiss you"

"W-what are you-" he was stopped mid-sentence by a squeak that came out of his throat as he felt a cold hand slide underneath his shirt. He immediately tried to force it away but Gilbert grabbed his wrists with his other hand and held them above his head.

"You aren't fooling anyone Mathew, I could see it in your eyes since I first moved here to Canada" he said not breaking eye contact with him. Mathew gasped when he felt his hand move to his back and trail down. Gilbert started getting closer, their faces only inches apart. "I'm not going to miss my chance again" he said getting even closer. Their noses were practically touching and Mathew could feel Gilbert's breath on his lips when…

"BIRDIE, BIRDIE, BIRDIE, BIRDIE WAKE UP WE GOT A LOT TO DO TODAY C'MON RISE AND SHINE SLEAPING BEAUTY THE SUN IS UP C'MON WE'RE WASTING PRECIOUS DAY LIGHT!" Mathew opened his eyes only to find that the room was shaking…only it wasn't the room. Gilbert was literally shaking him awake.

"Huh?" was his only response.

"I GET TO CHOOSE WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY SO HURRY UP!" he said running of the bed (and trampling Mathew along the way) Mathew sat on the bed as his friend kept shouting to get dressed, with his head bowed and thought…why did I have that dream?

ooooOOOOoooo

Mathew and Gilbert were once again searching for the German couple since they were (again) left behind. That meant that once again was stuck wearing Gilberts swimming shorts but this time he decided wear a shirt over the bikini top.

"So Birdie…" he said in a suspicious tone. "Did you have a nice dream last night?"

"Huh?!" he responded as his face started to turn red.

"Is it some guy from Canada? Do I know him?" he said getting closer to the Canadian.

"I…I-I don't know what you're talking about…" he said turning away.

"Kesesesese don't lie to me birdie, you sounded like you were having a good time…" he said with a grin only making the poor Canadian's face heat up more. "C'mon birdie…I'm your best friend you can tell me anything"

"R-really Gill…I-I'm serious…I don't….it….it…I'm not…."Mathew started getting choked up on his words so he decided to stay quiet while Gilbert laughed. They continued walking and searching as Gilbert (having the attention span of a moth) changed the subject of their conversation every minute or so. Once they found them they ran up to them (Mathew being once again dragged by the wrist).

"So you guys ready for an awesome day?!" he said with all the enthusiasm he could.

"Well honey you see…." Brigitte said in an overly sweet voice "We were planning to go along with your plans but…we are going to a fancy diner tonight"

Gilbert looked at her with a puzzled face. "But diner is at night…and we are doing stuff right now…during the day…" he said slowly as if he was explaining something to a child.

"Yea but I want to go dress shopping and spend some quality time with Madeline while I'm at it" Gilbert looked at her with an enormous pout as if he was a child again, being told he couldn't buy the toy he'd been waiting for. "Gilbert you are a grown man, there is no reason for you to do that kind of facial expressions." Gilbert's pout only grew as he held a staring contest with his mother while Dominik and Mathew kept quiet with a clearly amused face.

"We can do whatever you want tomorrow, for now, why don't you have some father-son bonding time?" she said sweetly. Gilbert let go of Mathew's wrist and walked away mumbling something about this being a bunch of bull shit while Dominik trailed behind. "Shall we get going then?" said Brigitte turning to Mathew who laughed at his friend's misfortune when he realized…he had to go dress shopping.

ooooOOOOoooo

Why me, why me, why me? Why does this stuff only happen to me? Mathew kept whining inside his head while trying to keep a smile on his face. Brigitte was the first to find her dress but had a hard time finding one for Madeline mainly because "she" wasn't really looking. Eventually she got serious and Mathew was once again shoved into a dressing room with a bunch of clothes he was forced to try on.

"You look beautiful, I really like this one!" said Brigitte excitedly.

"I-I don't know" said Mathew scratching the back of his head. "Blue isn't really my color"

"Hmmmm….I guess you're right. Try the red one then!" Mathew sighed but did as told. He came out again wearing a red dress with two straps that crossed in the front and tied in the back of his neck with half the back exposed.

"Yup…red is definitely your color, just let me try one more thing." She got up from where she was previously sitting and walked up to Mathew with a white flower. She pulled "Madeline's" hair into a side ponytail and stuck the flower next to his ear. "Perfect!" Mathew let out a sigh of relief that didn't have to try anything else. He went back in the changing room when he heard his phone ring. It's probably Gilbert, he thought with a smile.

"Madeline it's from Gilbert" said Brigitte proving him correct.

"What did he say?"

"He asked if we are done already"

"Can you tell him that we are almost done for me?"

"Of course" Mathew finished changing and came back out of the dressing room only to find Brigitte staring at his phone with a smile. "So Madeline, who is this handsome young man…he looks exactly like you" she said not giving the phone back yet.

"Oh that's my brother Alfred" He said and she nodded.

"What about the one with the cowlick?" she asked.

Merde was Mathew's first thought. He had forgotten that the picture he had as his background was one of him and Al together before he moved to America while Mathew stayed in Canada. Mathew was wearing his Hockey uniform and Alfred had his baseball one. He decided to do the logical thing…and lie. If Gilbert could do it then how hard could it possibly be?

"Oh that one is Alfred…Mathew is my twin brother" he said with as much confidence as he could. "it's kind of hard knowing which one you are talking about sometimes since people often think Alfred looks like us."

"You and Mathew are identical!" she said handing Mathew his phone back.

"More than you think…we are identical in every way possible" he kept lying finding out it was actually easier than he thought.

"So who's the better hockey player?"

"Mathew is, he is impossible to beat" he said getting a little full of himself but hey! It doesn't matter if people don't know you are actually talking about yourself.

"Gilbert tried playing against him a couple of times but he would always end up with a couple of bruises and a broken ego."

"So how long has Gilbert known your brother?"

"They have known each other since Gilbert moved to Canada."

"Really?" she said with a surprised look "I find it strange that Gilbert never told me…he always tells me about the friends he makes." Mathew felt a sudden pain in his chest. Why hasn't Gilbert told them about me? He though. He felt hurt that Gilbert and he have been best friends for almost 3 years and he hasn't mentioned a single word about him. "Well we should probably be going" Brigitte said picking up their clothes and heading for the checkout area. Mathew followed wondering why it hurt more than it should.

* * *

**Hey people ducking here QUACK! Ok first of all don't hate me for not updating sooner but I promise that I'll update the next chapter much quicker. Anyways I sure you guys don't want to hear my excuses so let's go back to the story…I have no idea how this turned into a drama….I should probably change the second Genera to Drama. What do you guys think? Also Gilbert was supposed to choose the activities for that day but I'm goanna postpone that to later. So with that said DUCKLING OUT QUACK!**


	5. why?

"-and the deal was that the winner was going to pick the activities for today!" shouted Gilbert as he and Dominik sat at a bar. "I thought you were a man of your word!"

"I am but…your mutter wanted to go dress shopping and well…" he trailed off scratching the back of his head. "She terrifies me…."

They both stood in silence before they both shuttered at a memory "yea I don't blame you" Said Gilbert taking a sip from his beer.

"Well son there's something I want to talk to you about" Gilbert raised an eyebrow in confusion towards his father's sudden attitude change. His eyes widened when he saw him pull out an iron cross from under his shirt that hung around his neck.

"SIND SIE ERNST!?" Gilbert shouted as his face lit up like a child's.

"do you remember when you were little and you wanted me to give it to you?" he asked and Gilbert nodded.

"Of course I do, but you never let me have it"

"This iron cross, and the one your mutter has, once belonged to your Grandparents" he began explaining but was interrupted.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa hold on…shouldn't you had told me this when I was sixteen like In all those movies where the main character discovers a disturbing or dramatic past?"

"Shut up and listen!" said Dominik "The only way to get one is if you were part of the military, your grandfather gave this one to me and your grandmother gave hers to your mother."

"I though they didn't allow women in the military" interrupted Gilbert again.

"Shut up that's a different story….anyways they gave them to us when we got married and I guess it's too early for that but…" He took of the cross and handed it to Gilbert. "I like this girl and so does your mother, I'm sure you made an awesome choice."

Gilbert looked at the cross for a moment, then smiled. He hung it around his neck and turned back to Dominik "I guess I did, didn't I?"

"I'll tell you mother when we get back to the hotel so you can give the other to Madeline.

"Yea…I give it to him when we are done with diner…" Shit thought Gilbert.

"Wait, what?

"What, what?" said Gilbert trying to hide it.

"You said him"

"No I didn't…I said her"

"I'm pretty sure you said him"

"You probably heard wrong"

Dominik stayed silent, then went back to sipping his beer "I guess your right…I'm getting old" Gilbert laughed then turned his head and let out a sigh of relief.

oooooOOOOOooooo

Once Gilbert and Dominik met up with the girls again who were carrying a hundred or so bags (or at least in the guys' perspective) they headed back to the hotel to get ready for diner. The guys headed back to Gilbert's room while Brigitte dragged Mathew into hers. After a couple of minutes Gilbert and Dominik where waiting outside the door with an inpatient look. Dominik was leaning against the wall while Gilbert was laying on the ground with his arms stretched out to his sides.

"MEIN GOTT!" grunted Gilbert "why are they taking so long!"

"Gilbert get up you're a 21-year-old-man and you're acting like a four-year old"

"Uuuuuuuuuggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh!" Gilbert grunted again ignoring his father's comment. He was going to continue grunting until the girls came out. "UUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Mein gott shut up Gilbert!" Yelled Brigitte as she walked out of the room making him stand up quickly. "I swear men have no patience"

"At least we can get ready in under five minutes…" mumbled Gilbert under his breath.

"Madeline! Hurry up and get out here!" said Brigitte in a really sweet voice.

"Uh…n-no thanks, you guys can go ahead…" Said Mathew behind the door. Brigitte rolled her eyes

"Madeline come on you look great! Gilbert tell your girlfriend she looks beautiful"

"Birdie come on, I bet you look great!" said Gilbert earning a glare from her "Umm….I bet you look beautiful"

Mathew came out slowly wearing that dreaded red dress with his hair to the side with the white flower next to his ear.

"Good girl, now let's get going!" said Brigitte walking away with Dominik. Gilbert and Mathew stayed still looking eye to eye until Mathew broke the silence.

"I look ridiculous don't I" he said scratching his head.

"N-no…you just look different…" he said awkwardly "I'm just not used to you wearing makeup"

"Shut up" he said punching his shoulder while Gilbert laughed.

Once they got to the restaurant Mathew had to ignore the urge to rub his eyes with his fists every few minutes. Thankfully Gilbert was more than a distraction so it helped not think about it. When their meals were finished they heard that the music changed and that people started getting up to dance.

"NOW YOU'RE TALKING!" said Dominik practically standing on his chair. "Let's go dance liebe!"

"I think I'll sit out on this one" she said sweetly.

"Well then I guess I'll dance with Madeline then" he said standing up.

"W-what? N-no, no…I-I can't dance…" he said but was dragged away by the German anyways.

Gilbert watched in amusement as his friend was forced into the dance floor. He felt awkward at first and it showed but eventually the German's attitude and energy influenced Mathew and he began to dance more freely.

"Birdie you liar…you do know how to dance." Gilbert said to himself.

"So know that those two are gone" said Brigitte scooting closer to her son. "Your father gave you the iron cross, did he not?

"Yea, and he told me that you were gonna give me another one" Brigitte giggled and unlatched the cross that was hanging from her neck giving it Gilbert. "So you guys are serious?

"Of course we are serious, we both think Madeline is a wonderful person!" she said looking over at where Mathew and Dominik were dancing. "We think you did a great choice"

Gilbert smiled and stood up holding out his hand "Come on…let's show them what dancing really is!"

oooooOOOOOooooo

"I'm beat!" said Gilbert as he threw himself on the bed where Mathew was trying to get comfortable only to get his plans ruin by the albino.

"UGH, Gill…I'm trying to sleep" she said covering himself up to his neck.

"Why are you so tired birdie?"

"You try being a girl, see how you like it"

"Meh…my parents really like you by the way" he said finally staying still "just letting you know"

Mathew's eyes snapped open…then they narrowed again. "No…they like Madeline…not me"

Gilbert looked at him with a confused expression "what do you mean?"

"They can't like me if they don't know who I am" he said with a little more anger that he intended.

"Ok now you're just being stupid"

"Oh am i? "He said getting up "Because they know Madeline, but somehow they know nothing about your best friend!

"Birdie chill, you're acting as if we're married or something" he said sitting up as well and trying to calm him down.

"That's not the point Gilbert. I'm your best friend, in fact I'm one of your only friends but somehow you don't think that's something to talk about"

"Ok yea I haven't told them about you but I have a good reason" he said in a defensive matter.

"It's because I'm gay isn't it?" he said with a look mixed with anger and hurt.

"What? No….well that's kind of the problem" he said making Mathew frown more. He got of the bed and pulled a hoodie over his head. "No, no, no hold on…I don't mean that I'm embarrassed by it! Dude where are you going!"

"Just forget it Gilbert!" he said walking out the door. Gilbert fell off the bed as he was trying to get to his friend.

He stumbled in the hallway trying to catch up to the Canadian and losing him a couple of times I the process. He finally caught up to him but by the time they were already outside.

"Birdie you can't ignore me forever." He said walking right behind the Canadian who said nothing. "Birdie c'mon I'm not embarrassed I swear"

"Well then why else would you hide it then?"

"Because if I didn't I wouldn't be able to see you anymore!" yelled Gilbert causing the other to go silent in shock.

"Gil what are you talking about" he finally said.

"I told you my parent grew up with very strict families…I don't know what they would do if I told them that someone like you was my friend"

"Gil…" said Mathew a little more softly "you aren't 16 anymore…don't you think you can make your own decisions now?

"I know but…when I moved to Canada 3 years ago…I was still terrified of them so when I met you I didn't tell them about it…but later I thought, well I haven't told them I three years so what's the point in risking it now? "He said with a hint of fear in his voice. "I already lost my brother, I don't want to lose my best friend because of it too"

They both stayed quiet looking at the ground hearing only the waves crashing on the sand until Gilbert broke the silence.

"I haven't seen him in six years" he said in a really quiet voice "it wasn't fair what happened…we were at the table eating diner when he finally came home. I could see that he was nervous about something. He stood in front of my dad and he simply said…dad, I'm gay" Gilbert paused for a moment then continued.

"Of course it didn't end well…he was only 14 when that happened so dad said it was just a phase he was going through. But when he kept denying it they eventually started beating him." Gilbert said as his voice showed more fear than before. "I could hear him every time it happened but I couldn't do anything. They kept him locked in his room and wouldn't let him come out and once he became old enough they sent him to military school. They aren't bad parents…they juts grew up in a very strict family"

Mathew didn't say anything for a while, both he and Gilbert stared at the ground until Mathew finally spoke.

"I'm sorry" he said. Gilbert lifted his head in surprise "I overreacted for no reason but…it kind of hurt…"

Mathew sat down on the sand and soon enough Gilbert did the same.

"It doesn't matter anymore" said Gilbert "you're still my best friend and that's all that counts"

Mathew smiled but felt a pain in his chest. 'Best friend' he didn't know why that word seemed so terrible but he tried to ignore it "I'm glad I met you Gil"

"…how did we meet again?"

Mathew laughed. He remembered that day perfectly. He remembered walking outside his door and seeing a person (or what little you could see) behind a big box he was carrying. He lost his balanced but thanks to Mathew he was able to regain his posture.

"You ok?" said Mathew.

"Yea thanks dude" said the guy popping his head from the side of the box revealing a head full of white hair and red eyes. At that time Mathew thought nothing about it but if he really thought about it he was quite shocked.

"Do you need any more help?" Mathew asked politely.

"Yea sure, I could use some help" so Mathew helped Gilbert move in to the apartment that was right in front of his.

They went back down stairs to get one last thing when he noticed Gilbert getting distracted by a girl that was walking by. Once Gilbert noticed Mathew staring in that general direction as well he said.

"Back off dude I saw her first!" Mathew laughed.

"Relax I'm gay so you have no competition" He said as he got the last few things out of Gilbert's truck and handed some to him when he noticed that Gilbert had gone quiet. He laughed "Don't worry I'm not going to rape you or anything…you aren't my type"

"psshhhh, you just can't handle my awesomeness…" said Gilbert getting one of the boxes from Mathew's arms.

"Whatever floats your boat…" he said going up the stairs.

Once they got to Gilbert apartment Gilbert thanked him as he set the last box down.

"No problem" he said with a smile "if you ever need anything fell free to knock on my door"

"Sure thing…oh and I'm Gilbert by the way"

"I'm Mathew"

"That name doesn't fit you" he said simply as Mathew raised an eyebrow. "I'm gonna call you birdie instead"

Gilbert laughed at the memory while Mathew frowned.

"Sheesh you are horrible at nicknames Gil"

"Yea but you never complained about it so it doesn't matter" He said still laughing. Mathew stood up without the albino noticing and suddenly found himself with a face full of sand and a Laughing Canadian.

"Oh it's on!"

The two of them kept throwing sand balls at each other as if it was snow. Gilbert was losing so far as Mathew was a smaller target (or at least In Gilbert's defense).

"HEY THAT LAST ONE HAD A ROCK!" yelled Gilbert as he tried to catch the now runaway Canadian. Once he did catch him. They both lost their balanced and ended up with the albino lying on his back in the sand and the blonde on top of him, both laughing.

"That was fun, let's do it again" said Gilbert. He noticed, however that Mathew didn't respond so he lifted his head to see that the Canadian was falling asleep. "Birdie are you tired?

Mathew only nodded. Gilbert sat up forcing Mathew to sit up as well. "Let's get back to the room" he said but the Canadian grunted.

"I don't wanna walk…" said Mathew as he was falling asleep.

"Well then how else are you gonna get to the room?"

"Carry me" he said looking at Gilbert with half lilted eyes. Gilbert sighed but carried him on his back anyways.

"The things you make me do…" he said but Mathew was already asleep. When they got to the room Gilbert set him down on the bed and tucked him also removing his glasses.

"Oh I forgot to give him the cross…" he said to himself in a whisper. "I guess I'll give it to him tomorrow"

* * *

**LOOOOOOONG CHAPTER! Hey people Duckling here QUACK! Like a promised, I updated quicker and this was a loooooooooooooooooong chapter so IT'S A NEW (personal) RECORD! *applause* anyways so now you know what happened to Ludwig… oh but fear not my little ducklings, Mama promises that's not the last of him. SO! I hope this makes up for making you guys wait so long. DUCKING OUT QUACK! **

**translations:**

**(German)**

**mutter- mother (you guys should know this)**

**SIND SIE ERNST!?- ARE YOU SERIOUS!?**

**MEIN GOTT!- MY GOD!**


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